Directors like William Friedkin (Killer Joe), Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike) and Lee Daniels (The Paperboy) got in touch with me and wanted me to be part of their films. That was a whole new chapter for me. I didn’t chase any of those films and it made me think that I was right to take a chance, say no to the kind of thing I had grown tired of doing, and wait until something good came around. And it did.
In 2010 I had signed three big banner films with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Arjun Rampal. Directors like Ken Ghosh, Bela Bhansali signed me and I had got my signing amounts but those films did not take off at all.
I was waiting for good films after 'Fugly' released. My second film was important. I kept waiting, and the period strengthened me. I would rather wait and do something worthwhile than take up bad films.
The films that have influenced me and the films that have motivated me and inspired me were films that resonated, films that made me think after I saw them.
All I know is that Salman has signed 80 percent of my films without reading the script, and almost all our films have done well.
Some of the gangster films I made - not so much the 'Krays,' because I'm really proud of that - but some of the films I made after that... There are a few of those movies I wish I'd never gone near. I'm proud of about 10 percent that I've ever done. If I never see the rest again I won't mind.
Some of these things I saw in foreign films - African films, Cuban films - long before I decided to really go on this course as an actor. I started to think about what values I saw in those films that I wanted to bring to my projects
Some of these things I saw in foreign films - African films, Cuban films - long before I decided to really go on this course as an actor. I started to think about what values I saw in those films that I wanted to bring to my projects.
Everyone has this conjecture that action films are somewhat less prestigious than dramatic films. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've done them both and this is hard and dangerous.
When I was seven, I said, "I want to act." When I was 10, I realized that films exist, and I wanted to be in them. Not a comedian, I wanted to be a dramatic actor. Films just seemed such fun, and like such a great thing to do.
I know the volume of my work is less and I would have wanted to do more films. But I can't do just any role. That's the reason why I have done less crappy films.
There were a lot of people dreaming about making films, and they would finance maybe 6 films a year. Because they were funded by the government, the films sort-of had to deal with serious social issues - and, as a result, nobody went to see those films.
When people around me were signing films, I would wonder why nothing good came my way. See, I wasn't desperate to do films, but I was desperate to do good films.
It becomes important to do the right films, than do 10 films in a year. You may do it once, but it'll never happen again.
Once in a while a good opportunity would come along, like the first 'Playhouse 90 ever to air - working in television afforded me my best opportunities. The (film) industry was going through such turmoil at the time - studios didn't know where to go anymore, they were falling apart, television was there. They didn't know what kind of films people wanted. The European films were making a huge impact because those films wanted real people in real situations.
Actresses do glamorous roles, and then, after 10 films, they do an offbeat one. But Alia didn't do that. She picked films like 'Highway' and 'Udta Punjab,' too.